“Patrolling, Kate?”
I shrugged in either acknowledgement or apology.
With a sigh, he pushed himself off the couch and came to me. I was still in the entrance hall, and he stood at the place where the tile met the carpet, essentially blocking my path. “I thought we were over the secrets, Kate.”
“I’m sorry. There were demons. I needed to go.”
“There are always demons. Like I said, I thought we were done with the secrets.”
“It wasn’t a secret,” I said. “But it also wasn’t something I wanted to get into over the phone, and you weren’t coming home, remember? Mansion, then office.” I pushed past him and went into the living room, then fell exhausted onto the sofa.
“So this is my fault?”
“Fault? Why are we even talking about fault?”
He seemed to mimic me, sagging down onto the sofa as well, then shifting his body so that we we’re looking at each other. I expected him to say something, but of course he just sat there. Lawyer tactics. And entirely unfair as far as I was concerned.
I tried to wait him out, but failed. “I assume that everyone’s here and asleep?” I asked, when I couldn’t take the silence any longer.
“Eddie was here when I got home. He went to bed, I gave Timmy a bath, and put him to bed.”
“He’d already had a bath today.”
“Trust me,” Stuart said. “He needed another one. Apparently he likes jam sandwiches, and Eddie is more than happy to serve them to him.”
I bit back a smile but kept my face down so Stuart wouldn’t see it. “I’m sorry. I should have told you about tonight. Like I said, I didn’t want to get into it.”
“Do you think it’s a secret that you hunt demons? This isn’t exactly a new revelation.”
I looked up at him, and he tilted his head to the side, watching me. “Or is there something else you that you didn’t want to tell me? Like who you were patrolling with?”
“Stuart, not now….” I knew he was upset. “I know you wanted it to just be family, but you have to understand. Eric’s family, too. Whether you like it or not, he’s Allie’s father. It’s a big messy family, and we have to deal with it. And just because you got all pissy and stormed off doesn’t mean that I don’t need to go out and do my job.”
“Kate, all I wanted?—”
“No.” I held up a hand, giving him the same look I fire at the kids when they backtalk. “All you wanted was to punish me. To get rid of Eric so I couldn’t talk about the situation with Allie.” I could hear my voice rising with my pent up frustration, but couldn’t seem to dial it back. “And then you played power games and headed off to the mansion so you could work with Bernie and have the little wife at home. You want to play alpha male with Eric, do it without me at the center of it.”
“Kate—”
“Dammit Stuart, you left.” The force of my words propelled me off the couch, so that I ended up standing in front of him. “Remember? You walked off and left me when Eric moved to Los Angeles. You both left me alone and you took my son with you.”
I was breathing hard and tears pricked my eyes.
“Our son,” he corrected gently. “And I came back. I came back because I love you.” He reached for my hand, but I didn’t take it. He drew in a breath, then let it out slowly. “I came back because I want to make this marriage work. This family work.”
I turned, looking away from him, trying to organize my thoughts. It wasn’t easy. I knew he meant it. But still…
“We came so far in Rome,” I said, my back to him. “We really did.” I turned to face him through tears. “I thought we were really back on track, you know? But now we’re here and demonsare popping up all over San Diablo, I don’t know how I’m supposed to deal with this testosterone-laden bullshit. I mean, seriously Stuart, it’s too much. Especially when there are things to figure out, and I need Eric around to do that. There are things I have to find out about him, because those things will make a difference to Allie.”
I shook my head, then barrelled on. “No,” I correct. “It’s not just because of Allie. I need to know because of Eric, too. Because I do love him, Stuart. And you’re just going to have to find a way to deal with that.”
The words seemed to fly out at me out of me, and I feared that they were battering Stuart. Not that I could tell since he was wearing his courtroom expression. In other words, he had no expression. He was taking it all in and not showing a single reaction.
“Is that what you want?”
I blinked, truly surprised by the question. “What?”
“Do you want me to figure out a way to deal with it? Or do you just want me gone?”
